Bail reduced for Caln homicide suspect

WEST CHESTER — A Parkesburg man accused as a co-defendant in the June 2013 murder of a Caln man has been granted bail in the case, although his attorney suggested that there was virtually no possibility that his family could post the cash necessary to secure his release.

Common Pleas Court Judge David Bortner agreed Friday to set bail at $75,000 with a 10 percent option for Steven Jones, after a representative of the Chester County Bail and Pre-Trial Services Agency assured him Jones not a likely flight risk.

Bortner said he had been concerned by the number of contacts Jones, 23, had since he was a teenager, but that he believed that sufficient conditions could be attached to Jones’ bail should he be released that he would not be a threat to the public and would appear for court.

Jones did not testify at the hearing, except to answer questions about his background put to him by Bortner.

Although Jones would only have to put up $7,500 to be released from Chester County Prison, where he has been held since last year, defense attorney Michael J. Reed told Bortner it was unlikely that his mother could raise even $5,000 to post as bail. He had requested a nominal amount, which Bortner denied.

Reed was able to request that Bortner set a bail amount after the judge on July 22 dismissed charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to committee first-degree murder against Jones, charges that had been filed by the county District Attorney’s Office against Jones in December.

Jones, a graduate of Coatesville Area Senior High who was unemployed and on probation at the time of the shooting in Caln, is accused of supplying the handgun that 20-year-old Devaine Scott used to shoot and kill his step-father, 36-year-old Joseph Durham, after an argument over whether Scott would walk the family’s dog turned violent.

According to Bortner’s decision in Reed’s motion to have charges against his client dismissed, the prosecution alleges that Jones was sitting in a car outside Scott’s home on Thorndale Place when Scott walked out of his house naked and approached him. An eyewitness to the events said that Scott told Jones that his step-father has just assaulted him, and that he needed to go back into the house to get clothes and other belongings. He asked Jones to give him a gun, and Jones reached over in the car and handed Scott a pistol of some kind.

Scott went back into the house and, moments, later, allegedly shot and killed Durham in the older man’s bedroom. Scott then fled the property with his sister and with the gun, which has never been found.

Bortner, after a hearing in May on Reed’s motion, ruled that at the time Jones gave the gun to Scott, he had no way of knowing that Scott had any intention of committing a premeditated first-degree murder. He could have believed that Scoot simply needed the weapon for his own protection, the judge ruled.

Bortner, however, refused to dismiss charges of third-degree murder, conspiracy, aggravated assault, and hindering apprehension, as Reed had requested.

As for the bail question, Assistant District Attorney Max O’Keefe, who is prosecuting the case, said his office would agree with the Bail Agency’s recommendation that Bortner set the amount at $250,000 cash, without the 10 percent option.

Cliff Downward, the Bail Agency representative, said that Jones was a lifelong resident of the county, and had not violated any bail conditions imposed on him for an earlier theft charges, for which he eventually served six months in county prison. He said the reason for the bail amount he recommended was the fact that the charges against Jones in the murder case had been filed while he was on probation, and that he had since been charged with another crime, criminal trespass.

He also said that Jones had tested positive for drug use while he was on probation.

Jones told Bortner that should he be released, he planned to live with his mother and brother in Downingtown.

Denise Jones, his mother, told Bortner that Jones would have a place to stay with her if he was released. “I will see to it myself that my son will stay out of trouble and show up for court,” she told the judge.

In addition to the $75,000 bail he set, Bortner also said that if released, Jones would have to spend at least three months on electronic home confinement, submit to a drug and alcohol evaluation and periodic drug screening, and have no contact with witnesses in the case of Durham’s family.

Durham’s homicide occurred about 10:30 p.m. On June 10, 2013. An affidavit filed by investigators stated Scott was getting out of the shower when Durham asked him to take the family dog out for a walk. Investigators said Scott’s mother, Michelle Durham, told police that her son and husband then got into a heated verbal altercation that eventually turned physical inside the teen’s bedroom.

Michelle Durham told police that she saw the pair punching each other inside Scott’s bedroom. She then gathered her two younger children and fled the house, officials said. She dialed 911 from her car and later returned with police. When officers entered the home they discovered several spent shell casings on the floor and bullet holes in the wall.

Three officers, with the use of a ballistic shield, began to move up the stairs to secure the second floor, the affidavit said. While they moved up the stairway they noticed additional shell casings, bullet holes, and what appeared to be blood at the top of the stairs. One of the officers called out to see if anyone was present in the home, and Duram answered, saying he could not come out of his room because he had been shot by his step-son. He also informed officers that there was a gun in the room with him, but did not respond to further attempts to communicate, according to police.

Meanwhile, Scott appeared in Bortner’s courtroom on Monday to hear that his case and Jones’ would be tried together. He is represented by the county Public Defender’s Office. A tentative trial date is set for later this month, but may be continued.